This is why I can’t live in any of the marquee cities that are supposed to be so great.

When my Midwestern family would come to visit me in NYC or SF, they would be shocked at my low standard of living. I had to explain that many of the things that they took for granted at home are extreme luxuries in Manhattan. You know, things like:

• A dishwasher
• A in-unit washer and dryer. For many NYC-dwellers, having one’s own washer and dryer gives the feeling of having “made it”.
• A spare bedroom for hosting out-of-town visitors
• Central heating, ventilation, and air conditioning
• Enough space to have people over or host dinner parties
• A kitchen area that can fit more than one person
• A comfortable and separate area to work at home

This, and worse, is how many liberals think everyone should live. Screw that noise. A future of concrete boxes with no amenities at all is pointless and has nothing to do with human flourishing. And it won’t even save the earth, as they imagine. But in the puritan-based mindset of (particularly) American liberals, suffering is its own virtue and proves one is on the righteous path.

To have the same standard of living I have now in FL and NC, I’d have to make something like $300,000 a year. Perhaps a bit more these days.

You know what, I want enough room for my exercise equipment. Otherwise, I’d never work out as I just can’t do gyms. I want an area I can get work done that’s quiet. I want a dishwasher. I want a fucking kitchen that can fit more than one person. I want a back yard. I want to not live in concrete box with a million noisy halfwits.

If that’s wrong, I don’t want to be right.